Car-coupling



2 t e e h S w e nu h S 3 N 0% S m U 0 H R AA 0 u (No Model.)

WIZWESSES (No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3. J. A. HINSON. GAR COUPLING.

No. 460,351. Patented Sept. 29,1891.

a Jfi 0 5 2%- UL? 2 5 E w WITNESSES [WEI/V702 :dliorney "UN TED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. HINSON, OF DES MOINES, IOlVA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,351, dated September 29, 1891. Application filed June 17, 1891. Serial No. 896,592. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES A. HINSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplings; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to automatic carcouplers; and it has for its object to improve the construction of this class of devices, so as to render the coupling and uncoupling of the knuckle certain and easy of operation, to improve the locking devices thereof, and to provide a draw-head and knuckle adapted to withstand the sudden and violent shocks to which such parts are subjected when in use; and it consists in the arrangement, construction, and combinations of parts, as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a top or plan view of a draw-head and part of a drawbar. Fig. 2 is a horizontal longitudinal section of the same with the knuckle in dotted lines; Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinal section through draw-head and bar, showing knuckle locked. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of my draw-head Fig. 5, a front view of latch raised; Fig. (5, a side view of same when down; Fig. 7, a front view of Fig. 6; Fig. 8, a front view of a modified forin of latch; Fig. 9, a side view of the same; Fig. 10, a side View of a device for releasing the knuckle, and Fig. 11 a front elevation of the same.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throu ghoutthe several views.

A represents a draw-bar having the drawheadB of an automatic car-coupler cast therewith, as is usual. At the upper side or top of the draw-bar at its junction with the drawhead a hollow buffer a is cast, which projects upwardly from said head and is formed with an opening or slot I) through its top for a purpose to be described. The draw-head is formed with the perforated lugs or ears 0, which extend or project forward, one from the upper and the other from the lower side of the draw-head, between which the knuckle D is fitted'and pivoted by a bolt or pin E, so

asto swing freely on said pin in coupling and uncoupling. In order to provide a suitable surface to receive the impact or concussion between draw-heads and hard blows given at the rear on the upper and lower sides of the knuckle. The tail-pieceF of the knuckle is formed with a shoulder e on its rear side, which extends across the same and is adapted, when the coupling is effected, to engage the face of a shoulder f, formed on the interior surface of the draw-head wall above the inner face of the bottom thereof, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4. By means of the shoulders and projections described the shocks received by the knuckles are distributed evenly on the draw-head and liability of the same being broken from such blows reduced to the minimum. A spring F is secured at one end within the draw-bar beneath the shoulder f, and its free end projects forward, so as to exertits strength against the rear side of the tail-piece of the knuckle, in order to normally hold said knuckle open and to as sist in throwing the same open after it has been released from its lock. The spring lies under shoulder f of the draw-head when the knuckle is closed, and is thus protected from the shocks incident to concussion between draw-headsor knuckles.

G represents my improved latch, which is formed with a horizontal slot 9 at its upper end and with a longitudinal slot h through its body portion, and a flange r is formed round its upper end, which is adapted to rest on the edge of the slot or opening I) in the buffer a, and thus exclude dirt, snow, &c., from entering the draw-head. The latch fits in the opening I), so as to be readily and easily raised therein, but is held against vibration while in use by the walls forming the opening, as well as by the extension j of the latch, which projects or extends through a small opening it in the lower wall of the draw-head, said opening being of such dimension as to permit the latch to be readily raised therein, but to prevent its vibration or sidewise play therein.

It will be noticed that there is a great difference in the size of the openings 1? and k, and that the latter opening is arranged or formed at one side of the draw-head adjacent the wall thereof. The latch is made considerably thicker at the upper portion for a little more than one-half its length, and the lower end thereof extends backwardly, as best shown in Figs. 6 aud t), so as to enter said opening it. At the lower end of the thickened portion an inclined shoulder Z is formed on the front side of the latch, which extends past the shoulder m, formed thereon. The latch is also cut away on its rear side, as at n, to form a vertical shoulder for a purpose which will be described. At the upper end of the latch, at each corner thereof, lugs are formed, the use of which will appear hereinafter. The latch is suspended in the draw-head bymeans of a' pin 13, passed through the side walls of the buffer a and through the longitudinal slot It, said pin also serving to prevent the accidental withdrawal of the latch, but permitting it to have a vertical movementlimited to the length of said slot. Immediately alongside the latch I mount the trigger H on the pin 13, said trigger having a lateral projection I at its lower end adapted to enter beneath the shoulder m when the latch is raised, and thus support the same up and in position to drop in front of the tail-piece of the knuckle and lock the same in place. As shown in Fig. 5, the trigger is supporting the latch up and lies directly in the path of the tail-piece of the knuckle, so that when the latter is swung closed it will pass beneath the inclined shoulder of thelatch and, striking the trigger, will throw the same backwardly or swing it on the pin 19 until its projection passes off from the shoulder m, and thus permit the latch to drop down in front of the tail-piece and lock the same in place, the trigger being held back out of the way by its projection catching against the vertical shoulder 71. It will be observed that the latch, (see dotted lines, Fig. 2,) when in position, bears against the side wall of the draw-head, and is thus relieved of the duty of bearing alone the full strain of the knuckle, but transfers the same to the draw-head, thus enabling the use of comparatively light latches and rendering their term of usefulness much greater than with the ordinary latch. It will also be observed that the knuckle tail-piece will raise the latch should the same happen to be down when it is desired to make a coupling by striking against the inclined shoulder of the latch, and as the knuckle is forced or swung raising the latch, and after the tail-piece passes the latch the latter will drop down and lock the tail-piece in place.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the latch. may be formed with a shoulder 1" above shoulder m, the purpose of which is to enable the deviceto form a coupling on a curve. This is accomplished by the latch dropping down and resting by its shoulder r on the top of the tail-piece before the tail-piece has entirely left or passed the latch, the tail-piece pressing or bearing against that portion ofthe latch immediately below the shoulder rand being thereby held until the train straightens out, when the tail-piece will be forced back and the latch permitted to drop in front of the same and accomplish the complete or full coupling of the knuckles. V

To release the knuckle and thus uncouple the cars I lift or raise the latch up in the buffer ct and out of the path of the tail-piece by means of a lever M, which is supported in hangers s, secured to the end of the car above the draw-head and having a crank-handle t at one end and arm a at the other end, the latter having a slot o formed in its end, in which a clevis w is loosely secured, said clevis being connected to the head of the latch by a link or links 00, connected to a clevis y, loosely secured in the slot g of the latch.

The elongated slots o and 9 enable me to use a comparatively short chain to connect the lever and latch without any liability of the chain or any part of the fastening being broken when the draw-bar is pulled out or driven in during the movement of the train, as the clevises may move back and forth in the slots to accommodate such movements of the draw-bar.

The lugs o, mentioned above, project outwardly sufficiently far to permit of the clevises resting againstthe same,and thus prevent them falling down and getting broken.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, in an automatic carcoupler, with the draw-head having a hollow buffer formed with an opening in its top and a swinging knuckle, of a pivot-ed latch having a horizontal slot at one end and a longitudinal slot in its body, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in an automatic carcoupler, with a draw-head having a hollow buffer formed with an opening in its top and a swinging knuckle, of a latch having a horizontal slot at one end and a longitudinal slot in its body, and a trigger for supporting said latch in said buffer,substantia1ly as described.

3. The combination, in an automatic carcoupler, with a draw-head having a hollow buffer formed with an opening in its top, of a latch having a horizontal slot at one end, a longitudinal slot in its body, and a shoulder on one side thereof, and a pivoted trigger hav ing a lateral projection adapted to engage said shoulder and support said latch, substantially as described.

4E. The combination, in an automatic carcoupler, with a draw-head having a shoulder projecting from its interior wall at one side and curved shoulders formed on its upper and lower sides at the end, of a knuckle hav-. ing a tail-piece formed with a shoulder adapted to engage the first-named shoulder, and

horizontal slot at its top, a longitudinal slot in its body, an inclined shoulder at its front I 5 edge, a vertical shoulder, and a horizontal shoulder, and a trigger having a projection adapted to support said latch, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in :0 presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES A. HINSON. Witnesses:

W. E. BOWEN, W. H. BARNES. 

